It is time for a fresh thread on this issue. I am starting the discussion from a current U.S. perspective, though people from other countries should feel free to offer their thoughts on police reform and abolition in their countries or as a general concept.
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To those who support police abolition, to what extent should we go to abolish the police? What is the most appropriate plan to prevent or stop violent criminals without a police force? Personally, I very much agree that significant funds should be divested from arresting people for minor offenses like marijuana and into supporting education and eradicating poverty in low-income areas. People have suggested that large portions of what police do can be covered better by social workers, which seems fair. But when talking about dangerous criminals, the situation becomes trickier. It is naive to think that dangerous crime will simply disappear and there needs to be plans to address that without replacement community law enforcement also abusing their power.
Camden, New Jersey's Police Department is an interesting case. The entire department was fired and forced to reapply, while the police department underwent structural changes, including more de-escalation training, psychological evaluations, and more time spent interacting with the community. These changes drastically reduced complaints of excessive force as well as violent crime in the area. Some people consider this case to be police abolition, though I disagree because it is still a Police Department that kept many of its previous officers and functions very much in the U.S. system. I'd like to think that Camden's success can be emulated in other cities, but it could just be an anomaly.
Meanwhile, in Colorado currently there have been significant reforms passed, including stricter rules against excessive force and an end to the qualified immunity defense. There are good intentions behind this, but it remains to be seen if these policies will actually be enforced. After all, body-cam policies did not stop the officer from stepping on George Floyd's neck. To those who support police reform, how do you imagine that reforms will be implemented when many of the people in charge are racist and corrupt? And how do you propose fixing a system that has been set up primarily to protect the interests of the rich rather than reduce violence, without tearing it down?
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To those who support police abolition, to what extent should we go to abolish the police? What is the most appropriate plan to prevent or stop violent criminals without a police force? Personally, I very much agree that significant funds should be divested from arresting people for minor offenses like marijuana and into supporting education and eradicating poverty in low-income areas. People have suggested that large portions of what police do can be covered better by social workers, which seems fair. But when talking about dangerous criminals, the situation becomes trickier. It is naive to think that dangerous crime will simply disappear and there needs to be plans to address that without replacement community law enforcement also abusing their power.
Camden, New Jersey's Police Department is an interesting case. The entire department was fired and forced to reapply, while the police department underwent structural changes, including more de-escalation training, psychological evaluations, and more time spent interacting with the community. These changes drastically reduced complaints of excessive force as well as violent crime in the area. Some people consider this case to be police abolition, though I disagree because it is still a Police Department that kept many of its previous officers and functions very much in the U.S. system. I'd like to think that Camden's success can be emulated in other cities, but it could just be an anomaly.
Meanwhile, in Colorado currently there have been significant reforms passed, including stricter rules against excessive force and an end to the qualified immunity defense. There are good intentions behind this, but it remains to be seen if these policies will actually be enforced. After all, body-cam policies did not stop the officer from stepping on George Floyd's neck. To those who support police reform, how do you imagine that reforms will be implemented when many of the people in charge are racist and corrupt? And how do you propose fixing a system that has been set up primarily to protect the interests of the rich rather than reduce violence, without tearing it down?
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